1936-1948 Lincoln Zephyr

1937 Lincoln Zephyr

The 1937 Lincoln Zephyr breezed in with few changes and much higher sales. Production more than doubled in fact, hitting 29,997 units, which moved Lincoln up to 16th place on the now much shorter industry volume list.

The rakish rear deck on the 1937 coupe was long, but trunk space modest.

Two new body styles appeared, a close-coupled three-passenger coupe priced at $1,165 and the $1,425 division-window Town Limousine, of which only 139 were built. The four-door came down $55 and, as before, far outsold the sedan-coupe.

The only styling change of note was chrome for some of the grille bars. Inside was a modernistic new instrument panel, with a vertical extension running down to the transmission hump for housing a radio speaker.

Speedometer and engine gauges were combined in a single large dial in the dash center, flanked each side by a glove locker and ashtray.

All 1937 models were designated Series HB and, like the 1936s, were built mostly by Briggs. Ford did the final assembly, installing drivetrain, adding hood and fenders, plus trimming and painting. Edsel Ford once laughingly told Tjaarda that Briggs might as well build the entire car, as the Zephyr assembly line was only 40 feet long!

This 1937 Zephyr has leather upholstery, not often ordered on closed body styles.